Lifelong Promise
by Kirishtu
Summary: Alternate Universe/Reality. Reborn as a human, Korial becomes a dragon-hunter after a tragedy in his youth. His target is none other than the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza. Written for Parzival12 as a request.
1. Chapter 1

One

The first time he saw a dragon, he was barely a child, barely old enough to understand that the giant serpents that flew freely through the sky were dangerous. Oh, there was always that innate fear - after all, the dragons were so big and he was so small - but Korial had never believed that the dragons he saw would hurt him. The dragons he saw flew high in the sky, ignoring the small village below as they went about whatever business they had. Korial knew all the stories - after all, who in Azeroth _didn't_ know the stories about the dragons? - and perhaps it was that second-hand knowledge that made him love the dragons in his own way.

They were a variety of colors - red, blue, bronze, green (never black, why was that? There was at least one black dragon, wasn't there?) - and Korial had always found them beautiful. He dreamed about them, about being one (a great red dragon) and flying with red dragons (always, it was red dragons), playing with them as if it was the most normal thing in the world. As if they were his family, his brothers and sisters, even his children. He knew the dreams were just that, but sometimes he woke up from them feeling a profound sense of loss. Sometimes they affected him so strongly that Korial woke up crying, and his mother had to come rock him back to sleep.

As he got older, the dreams began to fade, but his fascination for dragons was still there, and it seemed to grow even stronger. He found himself daydreaming about them sometimes, watching the sky instead of doing chores, hoping that, one day, he'd be able to see a dragon up close instead of watching them fly from so far below. Hindsight being what it was, Korial wondered if his dream to see one up close had been the catalyst for what had happened, for what had put him on his current path.

Korial opened his eyes and stared at the corpse of the blue dragon he'd just slain, its blood still steaming in the cold. He studied those glassy eyes dispassionately, his face unmoving. When Korial had just been sixteen years old, his village had become the victim of a dragon attack. No one knew why the two dragons - one red, one bronze - had started to fight, and no one ever would, but the battleground between the two behemoths had been Korial's home. Their tails had destroyed buildings; their talons had dug furrows in the ground; their breaths of flame and sand had murdered people and animals alike. Many had fled the battle, but they didn't make it far. Somehow the bronze broke away from th red, its scales rippling from bronze to black with edges of white, and it killed them with a mighty swipe of a talon. Korial's parents had been some of that strange bronze dragon's victims. Korial had survived only because he had been knocked unconscious and part of a thatch roof had fallen on top of him, obscuring him from the dragons' view and somewhat protecting him.

When he'd woken, the dragons were gone, and he was alone. He'd always been told that revenge was a poison, one that would eat away at his soul until there was nothing left. But he had been young and traumatized, and he didn't care about staining his soul black anymore. He swore, then and there, he would hunt down every dragon in Azeroth, and would end them. A part of him said it was to prevent tragedy like this from happening again, but he knew it was because he felt his fascination and love of the great serpents had been betrayed, and he hated them for taking away his life. Wounded in more than body, Korial had dragged himself from his ruined village and was eventually picked up by a band of traveling warriors.

And that was how he got to where he was now.

He had trained with them in the art of wielding a sword, of wearing heavy armor, and most of all, he had learned how to kill. Not just men and monsters, but dragons as well.

Korial reached for his broadsword, which was still lodged in the blue dragon's neck. It took a little bit of work to free the blade, but at last it came out with a slurping sound. Korial shook the blade free of blood, then stepped back from the corpse as the rest of his group moved in for the harvest. He didn't like watching the rest of his group tear apart the dragons like scavengers, and he wasn't sure why. He could kill them without blinking - he always seemed to know where the weak point was, always knew what it would take to kill a dragon of any color, and he didn't know why that was, either - but he didn't like watching the scale and meat being peeled back from bone. It reminded him of a dream he used to have, of skeletal dragons flying above an icy tundra, eyes glowing bright blue.

The dragon-hunter trudged to a small knoll and stood with his back to the activity behind him. A breeze teased his black hair with its strange white streaks, and he raised his free hand to catch one of the locks. He studied for a while, trying to remember a time where he hadn't had those white streaks in his hair, but unable to come up with one. He had locked away his childhood in the dark part of his heart, trying not to remember anything about his youth in an effort to remain on his bloody, black path without wavering.

A shadow passed over him, and he stiffened in recognition. He looked up at the sky immediately, eyes going wide at the sight of the red dragon passing above him. Even though the dragon was so high in the sky, she was so huge that there was no mistaking her for a bird. A tremor rushed through him; Korial's breathing increased and a tightness formed in his chest. He chalked it up to excitement, to renew an ever scarcer hunt, and his eyes tracked the great red dragon through the sky as she flew toward a ring of distant mountains that separated the Wetlands from the Twilight Highlands. She didn't look like the blue he had just killed. No, her horns were wider, thicker. She had jewelry adorning her claws and dangling from her chin. She was no mere dragon.

 _She is Alexstrasza, the Dragonqueen._ said a voice from inside him, both his and not his. Korial shivered again, because there were so many feelings contained within those words, and he couldn't tell if they were of hatred or of deep desire. One and the same, he decided. If he killed the Dragonqueen, then there would be no more dragons, right? Korial knew his chosen profession relied on a steady supply of dragons, and without them, he would find himself jobless and wandering, but he couldn't bring himself to care about what would happen tomorrow.

Quickly he slung his broadsword across his back and secured it there, then rushed to grab his horse, mounting the animal and setting his heels to its flanks. The animal took off in a rush of hooves, thundering for the pass that would take him into the Twilight Highlands.

He never lost sight of her. A tiny part of him said that he was speeding into a trap. That Alexstrasza was leading him away from his allies in order to get revenge for the deaths of her fellow dragons. The other tiny part of him said Alexstrasza would never get revenge for anything done to her or her kind, and out of all the creatures in Azeroth, it was _she_ who had the most reason to desire it. He ignored it all, standing somewhat in his saddle to get his bearings, then yanked on his horse's reins to force the animal to ride toward a rise called the Vermilion Redoubt.

Once, long ago, it had been a bastion of the Red Dragonflight against the forces of the corrupt black dragon Deathwing. Adventurers from both the Alliance and the Horde had come here to aid the Red Dragonflight in beating back the forces of the mad dragon, staging missions from here across the Twilight Highlands. Now it was a mere shadow of itself, wild and green, having been left untouched by mortal hands for years. Korial reined in his horse to a mere walk, then a stop, and he dismounted. He patted the animal's neck, and allowed the loyal animal to begin to graze on the lush grasses surrounding them. He reached for his sword, unsheathed it, and began to creep toward the heart of the Redoubt.

He moved quietly and carefully, noticing the signs of the great red dragon's passing. Branches were bent here from the wind from powerful wings; leaves had been knocked off by the passing of the tail or a talon. He found where she had landed, found where she had passed through the trees, and then the trail of the dragon abruptly stopped.

Korial stared at the end of the dragon's tracks, feeling confused as he studied the abrupt end of talons in the soft earth. He crouched beside one mark, touching it lightly with his fingertips. Where had she gone?

A dragon her size just couldn't up and disappear could it? There were stories told, from a time long ago, where a dragon had taken on a smaller form in order to be with the woman he loved, but... that was just a story.

He jumped up suddenly and swung his broadsword behind him as fast and hard as he could. As his body spun and his eyes saw what was standing behind him, he managed to somehow stop the momentum of his blade just spare inches from the redheaded woman's throat. She stared at him, her golden eyes showing no fear of nearly being decapitated. It was as if she had known he would stop the blade before he could harm her. Korial found himself captivated by her face. She had an unearthly beauty, with alabaster skin, red painted lips, crimson eye shadow, and bright red hair held back from her face by a crown of sorts. Horns rose from her hair like an adornment, and she wore little enough clothing that she was at least decent. Completing her ensemble was a diaphanous red cloak that fell to her ankles.

She raised her hand and gently touched his cheek. Korial tensed at the touch, his eyes going wide at the unfamiliar closeness. His sword fell suddenly from his grip and hit the ground hard enough to bury the blade halfway. Her ruby lips parted and she whispered, "Korialstrasz...?"


	2. Chapter 2

Two

Korial's legs gave out beneath him and he collapsed hard on the ground. His eyes were wide in shock as he stared up at the red-haired woman. His heart was hammering in his chest, threatening to break bone and leap right out between them. He was shaking, but he couldn't tell if it was from shock or fear or both or something else entirely. She followed him down, crouching before him but not touching him this time. Her golden eyes softened and a smile played on her lips. It was sad, but slightly happy as well, as if she knew something he didn't.

"I'm sorry. I startled you, didn't I?"

Her voice was musical, melodious. It still didn't do anything to ease his nerves. Korial swallowed hard and asked, "How do you know my name?"

Her golden eyes widened slightly. Then she blinked, as if she was trying to hide her shock. "Your name?"

"My name is Korial." Why did his voice sound so small? "Who are you?"

She didn't answer. She studied his face, her sadness becoming more profound the longer she stared at him. "So you don't know?"

Korial blinked. "What?"

She didn't move, but she looked to the side, her face becoming such the picture of sorrow that Korial had a sudden fit of self-loathing for making her look so sad. Then she looked back at him and smiled lovingly. "You still make that expression when you believe you've done something wrong, I see."

Korial blinked. He couldn't even begin to understand what she was talking about, but somewhere deep inside him, he could almost find a glimmer of knowledge. It was the same feeling that he'd had as a child, when he'd dreamed of dragons and watched them from afar. It was like those dreams had belonged to another person, that knowledge had belonged to another person, from a time before Korial himself. "Who _are_ you?" he asked again.

This time she rose, stepping back from him. Korial didn't move, watching the red-haired woman move through the grass as gently as a ballerina danced across the stage. When she was a good distance away from him, she said, "My name is Alexstrasza."

 _Alexstrasza._ Korial felt a shock of cold run through him. He stared at her, trying to see the dragon where the woman was standing. On one level, he knew exactly what she was - the legends were true, dragons _could_ change their shape - but on another, he couldn't quite believe what she was saying. "You mean... you're..." his voice was barely more than a whisper.

She nodded, clasping her hands together before her as she watched him. "But then, you knew that, didn't you?"

Korial didn't say anything. He slowly got to his feet but didn't move for his sword. He knew that Alexstrasza could kill him before he even pulled the weapon out of the ground. She didn't seem like she would do so, but Korial had learned long ago not to trust dragons.

 _She is the Aspect of Life. She would never kill you, even if you tried to kill her. Because she loves you, even though she doesn't know who you are. She loves all things. As she once loved me._

Korial shook his head to drown out the other voice inside him. He saw Alexstrasza's expression change quickly from neutral to concerned back to neutral, but he knew she had some idea of what was going on with him. "How?" Korial asked. "How can you be a dragon _and_ a human?"

Alexstrasza smiled. "I was born this way. I cannot change it. Same as you, Korial." He noted that she had dropped the 'strasz' part of the name, and wondered why. "Are you not going to try and kill me? After all, that's what you've been doing. I've heard of you, the boy who shares his name, and I wanted to see what you were made of."

"Shares who's name?" Korial asked, his voice gaining an edge. Alexstrasza only smiled, which made Korial's temper spike. He grabbed for his blade and yanked it out of the ground, but he didn't move. She just watched him, though she was no longer smiling. "Why aren't _you_ trying to kill _me_? After all, I've hunted down nearly all the dragons in Azeroth. You're their queen. Why aren't you defending your people?"

Alexstrasza smiled sadly. "Because I don't believe in the taking of life. You are in pain, Korial, from something that happened long ago. And you blame dragons for it. I understand that. Instead of forgiving, you've taken your hatred and used it as a weapon against my kind. I understand that too. I've seen something similar before. There are two paths before you now-"

"Don't lecture me like you're my mother, or something!" Korial snapped. His knuckles tightened around the hilt of his sword. "You know nothing!"

Alextrasza's smile became a little more sorrowful. "Korial, you won't heal if you keep fighting the truth."

He wished he could raise his hand to her, but his arm refused to move. He glared at her instead, his vision starting to blur. He closed his eyes tight against the tears and ground his teeth. "Maybe I don't want to heal."

His nose filled with her scent. He felt her warmth as her arms came around him, pulling him close and holding him tightly to her. The embrace was so comforting, so soothing, that Korial could no longer fight the tears. As he buried his face against Alextrasza's neck, as he inhaled more of her scent - he remembered it somehow, that lovely scent of fresh flowers, of spring breeze, of freshly extinguished ash - he remembered a dream he once had, a dream that had very quickly become a nightmare.

He himself had been a dragon, a mighty red dragon who had learned the truth about the clutch of eggs resting beneath the great Wyrmrest Temple. Knowing there was no time, and knowing his sacrifice would be seen as betrayal, he went and barricaded himself within the chamber with the clutch and had orchestrated his own demise, along with the deaths of a hundred or less infants. Infants who would've hatched and grown to serve the mad dragon Deathwing in destroying everything good and wholesome about Azeroth. It had all been to protect his greatest love, his very life, the very woman who was hugging him now.

"I forgive you, Korialstrasz." Alexstrasza whispered, stroking Korial's hair. Her own tears slid down her face, partly from sadness, partly from happiness. "I forgive you. I love you."

Korial lost his grip on his blade and it fell to the ground beside them. Unbidden, as if against his own will, his shaking arms he wrapped around her, feeling soft and supple skin against his fingertips. How long they stayed in that embrace, Korial didn't know, but at last he raised his head and stepped back from her. Alexstrasza looked at him in askance, her own golden eyes watery. He knew in that moment, if he stepped back toward her, the embrace would begin again, and perhaps Alexstrasza might even would free him from his anger and hatred.

Instead, despite himself, Korial reached up to use his thumb to wipe away Alexstrasza's tears. She leaned into his touch, her cheek brushing his palm. He smiled at her, then bent to pick up his sword. For the longest time, he studied the blade, then said softly, "My name is Korial, not Korialstrasz. I don't know who you think I am. I used to live in a small village near Elwynn Forest. It was destroyed by two dragons, a red and a strangely-colored bronze." His eyes flicked up to Alexstrasza. Whatever she saw there it made her take a step back. "You forgive me? For what? For doing what needs to be done?"

She took another step back. "Korialstrasz..."

"It's Korial." Lightning fast he swung his blade at her, but she evaded him. In two heartbeats, she was five steps away and then suddenly in the air, her powerful wings driving her upwards. He couldn't reach her if he tried. "I will find you!" he roared. "I swear it! And when I do, I will kill you!"

Her golden eyes shone with sadness and shock. They both knew that she could kill him with one swipe of her claws, or burn him with her fiery breath. He realized that if he dropped his sword, if he called to her and begged her to land, to hold him again, to help him, she would do exactly that without hesitation. He kept his teeth firmly clenched, his eyes burning as he stared at her. And, at last, she turned toward the open sky and flew away, wings beating hard.

Korial realized he was crying when the first tear slid down beneath the collar of his armor. He blinked the tears away, rubbing his eyes with his fist when they wouldn't stop, and when they did, sheathed his blade. He retrieved his horse, mounted, and then moved to follow the Dragonqueen's path on the ground, chasing after her with the goal to end her life.

She was, after all, just another dragon, and he had sworn on his parents' ashes to kill every dragon in Azeroth.


	3. Chapter 3

Three

How long he hunted her, Korial didn't know. Hours blended to days blended to weeks, to months. Perhaps even years. Time was inconsequential to the dragon hunter as he sought his prize, chasing every sign and rumor of her. The Dragonqueen proved elusive, and Korial wasn't expecting any less, considering her abilities. He was certain she was watching him at times, but he never saw her, never saw hide nor hair of her, and he often had sleepless nights looking for her. When he did sleep, he dreamed.

He dreamed of being a dragon, of being that mighty red male and soaring through the skies with his brothers and sisters and children. He dreamed of a system of caves in unreachable mountains, curling up beside a red female who outweighed him considerably. He dreamed of other things, too, of mating flights and watching eggs hatch. He dreamed of a floating city, of pretending to be human in order to keep an eye on the lesser races, to watch them flourish and grow. He dreamed of a human with flame-red hair, his best friend, his apprentice of sorts, who knew his secret only because they had gone on many adventures together, the most important of which was a mission to free Alexstrasza from the clutches of orcs.

Those dreams tugged at feelings unfamiliar to Korial. When he was awake and hunting, he often thought about those dreams and those feelings, trying to figure out where he ended and the other began. Alexstrasza had called him Korialstrasz. If he remembered his tales right, each dragonflight had special endings to their names, signifying their allegiance - as if the color of their scales wasn't enough - to their flight. For the red dragons, male names ended in 'strasz' while female names ended in 'strasza'. For Alexstrasza to give his name the male ending...

He shook his head and put the thought from his mind. It was all coincidence anyway.

Wasn't it?

Korial's path took him from the Eastern Kingdoms to Northrend. He traveled through the Borean Tundra, traveling east toward the Dragonblight. It was the last place he knew where to look for her, and he swore that if he didn't find her here, then he would finally give up. News had come in that the dragon hunts were ending anyway, that it was becoming harder and harder to find them. Either they were leaving the more populated places for the hidden places in mountain vales, or they were heading to their ancient stomping grounds, or they were - as Korial was beginning to believe they were - taking on smaller forms and insinuating themselves among the mortal races. Being a dragon hunter with no dragons to hunt was worse than useless. Of course, Korial didn't know what he would do with himself if he lost his line of work, but he was confident he'd find something.

His first stop was Wyrmrest Accord. The dilapidated temple was the most prominent feature in most of his dreams, including the dream where he killed himself and took the lives of thousands of unborn monstrosities. It was mostly ruins now, a testament to a battle that had happened long before he had been born. The top tier of the tower was missing, open to the elements. The rest of it had been weathered by the long years. Nothing and no one was there now, and even as Korial searched for clues, he couldn't find anything but worthless relics and a decent shelter from the snowstorm that suddenly roared in, blocking him from leaving for the next day and a half.

When the snowstorm cleared, Korial gathered his things and his horse and began the long ride toward the last place his dreams had pointed him to - the Red Dragonshrine. Long abandoned now, it still seemed to be the safest haven for any dragon who came to Northrend, mostly because no one ever traveled here much anymore. If anyone did come to Northrend, it was merely to head to Dalaran, and then use a portal there to head back to whatever city they had allegiance to.

He rode down into the bowl-shaped depression and pulled his horse to a stop at the bottom. The Red Dragonshrine was filled with green, a stark contrast to the desolation outside. It was warmer, and more welcoming. It was incredibly still, the only signs of life being the trees and grasses gently waving with an invisible wind.

Carefully, Korial dismounted and left his horse where it stood. He didn't care if the horse wasn't there when - if - he got back, probably because he knew he wouldn't survive the trip home. He wasn't so foolish as to believe that he would kill the Dragonqueen and emerge unscathed. Korial unsheathed his sword as he passed beneath the first of the trees, listening for any sound that was out of the ordinary. He craned his head back toward the sky, watching the grey-blue above for any signs of movement there. Everything remained still, so he continued on, deeper into the Red Dragonshrine.

Korial stopped in the very center of the shrine, grip tightening around the hilt of his blade. Standing there, as if waiting for him, was the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza. She was in her human form, in the same outfit she had been wearing when he first saw her. Her back was to him, but Korial knew she had heard him coming. He glanced left and right - she was alone. Before he took a step forward, Alexstrasza turned to face him. Korial froze, as if rooted to the earth just from her stare alone.

Her golden eyes were tired. Sad. She studied his face with the same expression Korial had seen widows wear when they visited the graves of their husbands. She said nothing to him, just watched him, not even retreating when he took his first leaden step forward, then another, and another, until only a sword-blade's distance separated them.

"I won't kill a woman." Korial finally growled out, his voice filled with hate.

"Is there much of a difference between the woman and the dragon?"

The question stopped him cold. A memory, a dream, bubbled up, of a red dragon who assumed the form of a man, who watched over the races others of his kind considered 'lesser', and who held held those 'lesser' races in higher regard than his own.

Alexstrasza's lips twitched. "You used to ask similar questions like that, though the meaning behind them was very much different."

Korial frowned. His blade came up, but she still didn't move. She watched him, sadness still in her eyes, tinged with that deep-seated love Alexstrasza always seemed to have for everyone and everything. "Change."

"No."

He took another menacing step forward, but she didn't retreat. She met his challenge - as she had always done, said that tiny little voice from another lifetime - and looked him in the eye. Now there was only a finger-length of space between them. Korial could feel Alexstrasza's body heat; he was sure she could feel his. His sword was still raised threateningly, but for some reason he couldn't get his arm to move. He realized - with bitterness? with relief? - that he couldn't kill the woman. He couldn't strike down Alexstrasza as she was right now. He also realized that she wasn't going to change shape, because then whatever was happening between them would stop, and he would kill her.

She raised her hand. Korial watched her, knowing somewhere deep inside him that he wouldn't be able to stop her if she chose to tear his throat out. Instead, she placed her hand against his cheek and let her warmth sink into his skin. Korial's arm twitched, then slowly, as if it couldn't bear its burden any longer, it slowly started to sink to the ground. His blade touched earth, and he found himself lost in the Dragonqueen's golden eyes.

"I know," Alexstrasza whispered, "how much pain you're in, Korial. Just as you know killing me, and killing every last dragon in Azeroth, will never ease that pain." Her thumb ghosted across his cheek and despite himself, Korial found his eyes closing for a brief moment, a part of him relishing the touch. When he opened his eyes again, Alexstrasza's face was mere inches away from his, allowing him to look into her depthless golden eyes. "I wish I could have saved you. I wish I could have healed you. I wish I could have-"

She couldn't say anything more.

Korial had sealed his mouth over hers, kissing her hard.


	4. Chapter 4

Four

How long he stood kissing her, he didn't know. She didn't push him away, and she didn't stand there and accept it either. Instead, she deepened the kiss, pressing closer, and Korial found himself lost in her touch and taste. When they parted, Alexstrasza was watching him, a small smile playing on her lips. Korial watched her back, his body feeling strange to him. Korial finally let go of his sword and it landed on the ground with a dull thump.

"How can you love me still?" Korial asked. "Especially when I've been working to annihilate your kind?"

Alexstrasza smiled and kissed him again. "Because I never stopped loving you. There is nothing in the world that can make me stop loving you, Korial."

She leaned her forehead against his, whispering for him to close his eyes. For a minute, Korial struggled with himself, but then eventually obeyed her. She said nothing more, instead guiding him with feeling alone. Alexstrasza's flesh slowly changed from pale white to red scale, and Korial felt something within him resonate with the change. All his dreams came rushing to the forefront, all of the vaguely remembered memories that didn't belong to him became incredibly vivid. He saw himself not as he was now, but as he was long, long ago, embracing this dragon before him, almost as he was embracing her now.

When Korial opened his eyes, Alexstrasza was staring down at him, her scaly nose close to his. His hands were still on her chin, his fingers splayed against the armor-like scales there. He saw in her eyes complete and total understanding, even though he himself still couldn't comprehend what had just happened in his mind's eye. Korial knew that in another time he was the red dragon Korialstrasz, the mate of the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza, but he didn't know how he knew that. He didn't know how he had ended up with the memories of another life, of another person entirely, but he had. But it didn't matter to Alexstrasza, because he was with her once again. Shape didn't matter; that he was human didn't matter; all that mattered was that he was with her once more.

Korial once more found himself standing before the crossroads of a matter of heart. He could take that step back and grab his sword, kill her now that she had become her true shape. She would forgive him for it, because that's what he did, what he had come for. Korial knew she wouldn't fight back against him if he chose to take that path, and she would allow him to live with the knowledge that he had killed a willing victim. The other path wasn't as clear, or as black and white, as the first. The other path would have him abandon his old life and build a new one with Alexstrasza. It would come as a shock to those who knew him, were they to meet again.

Korial bent his head and pressed his lips to Alexstrasza's snout.

Her scales were smooth under his lips, warm. They felt almost unreal.

When he lifted his head away, she changed from dragon to woman so swiftly Korial didn't even realize it was happening. Alexstrasza embraced him again, pulling him tight and close in an embrace that at once was motherly and that of a lover. Korial buried his face against the soft flesh of her neck and returned the embrace, holding tight to her. It was all he could do in that moment.

It was all he could do because that mixed-feeling embrace broke whatever self-made dam he had created around his feelings from the past. All the pain, sorrow, regret, hatred, anger, and countless other feelings surged from the black place in his heart and soul to the surface and poured out of him in hot tears. Alexstrasza crooned softly to him and stroked his hair, swaying gently back and forth. She comforted him as he let go of the poison that had filled his soul for years, as he accepted what he had railed against for years.

When he quieted, Alexstrasza let him go and before he could rub his eyes dry, she did it for him, sliding her thumbs beneath his eyes and across his cheeks to erase the signs of tears. Then her lips touched his skin, kissing away traces of salt. Alexstrasza's lips traveled from his cheeks to his lips, kissing him in a chaste way that offered nothing and wanted nothing.

His kiss in return offered her everything and wanted more.

For the first time in a long time, the Red Dragonshrine filled with the sounds of life, of voices lost in the joys of ecstasy and happiness, of young and old and lives lost and lives found coming together once more, of two joining to become one for however long their bodies could stand it. The sounds continued on even as the sun began to sink, drawing the brilliant colors of the Dragonshrine into darker, muted versions of themselves.

Korial moved away from Alexstrasza long enough to build a fire to give them light and warmth, then returned to her embrace. She tucked her head under his chin and rested her ear against his chest, listening to his heartbeat calming. The fire, Korial realized, was just a formality for him, for his humanness. Alexstrasza was keeping him warm, her body heated not just by their lovemaking, but by her true form as well. As a dragon, as a being of fire, Korial doubted she got cold easily. Also, she could see far better in the darkness than he could, and though he knew that no one and nothing would attack them here, the fire was a physical manifestation of his desire to feel safe.

Alexstrasza hugged him tightly. "I love you, Korial."

The way she said it allowed him to know that the words, the feelings, the touches, were only meant for him.

Korial hugged Alexstrasza tightly and kissed the top of her fiery head. "I love you, Alexstrasza."

Those words seemed to wash away the last vestiges of his rage, hate, guilt, sadness, everything that had made up who Korial had been. His past, all the things that had happened there, was slowly becoming a soft memory. His future, all the things that would happen, all the things that would shape him in the coming years, lay before him in the fog of all things unknown.

"I won't let you go again." Alexstrasza whispered. There was a promise in her words this time, a promise that Korial knew she would keep even if he wanted her not to.

"I know." Korial replied, and he knew she had heard the promise in his voice this time because she relaxed against him. He knew the exact moment she fell asleep in his arms, and Korial turned his gaze to the sky, where he could see a million stars twinkling in the dark.

Starting tomorrow they would start a lifetime together. It would be a final lifetime for the both of them. But Korial knew they would find each other again, in another shape, in another form, and would be together once more. They would live that lifetime, and the lifetime after that, and the one after that, for as long as the stars twinkled in the sky. Because the eternal love that Korialstrasz had for Alexstrasza, and the eternal love Alexstrasza had for Korialstrasz, would always bring them together.

No matter what life they lived before.


End file.
